Working in Cybersecurity

Started by Gusington, April 25, 2012, 08:22:44 PM

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Jack Nastyface

Good to hear.  Although I would hate to see you spend less 'net time here, you wouldn't do half-bad to spend some time lurking on the SANS forums.

Jack Nastyface
Now, the problem is, how to divide five Afghans from three mules and have two Englishmen left over.

Gusington



слава Україна!

We can't live under the threat of a c*nt because he's threatening nuclear Armageddon.

-JudgeDredd

Mr. Bigglesworth

Quote from: Gusington on June 29, 2012, 10:04:03 AM
OK so without knowing jack squat I just took my first A+ practice exam and got half the questions correct. Didn't pass the test, but getting half right without any preparation is pretty good. With a study guide and some time invested I should be able to get my A+ certification and then move on to networking, security and then more hardcore cybersecurity certifications. It will take some time but appears pretty doable.


Isnt A+ pc hardware technician stuff? What does that have to do with cyber security?
"Once more unto the breach, dear friends, once more; "
- Shakespeare's Henry V, Act III, 1598

Gusington

It's been recommended to me that I get a good foundation of the basics and go from there. Once I get the A+ I will move on to networking, then basic security, then more advanced security certifications.


слава Україна!

We can't live under the threat of a c*nt because he's threatening nuclear Armageddon.

-JudgeDredd

Grim.Reaper

#34
Hey Gus,

Just happened upon this thread.  I have been in a number of fields within Information technology for over 20+ years and was a manager for an Information Security team at a large financial instituion for 4+ years.  In the end, I decided the field of security was not my favorite area so I have since moved on, but I have to say that anyone working in Information Technology should at one point in their career spend some time in a security position because it gives you a whole new appreciation of what these people have to do.  I am not sure if this is the case in all companies, but typically the security department is thought of as "big brother" and just there to make it difficult for project teams to implement projects.  However, after managing the team, I have a whole new appreciation of what goes on.  There is so much involved and much of it is not black/white which makes the job difficult.  You do have to play the role of a "bad guy" since people might not like decisions you make (i.e. implement policies, block web sites people want to use, discover illegal use of material, etc.).  It was actually an exciting role since you had access to "behind the scenes" stuff that most people never hear about, some of it just plain scary.  It was also interesting in my area because our physical security team (i.e. guards, facilities, etc.) was combined into out team so I also was exposed to physical protection.  Pretty neat stuff.  There are many roles within security you can pursue such as perimeter (i.e. firewall, network, proxies, etc.), policies, analysts, architect, user access administrator, physical security, forensicsm etc.  Personally, I don't see the security role going away anytime soon especially in certain industries such as financial and healthcare since government regulations keep increasing (i.e. SOX) which typically has some kind of guideline for protecting consumer data and such.

By the way, if you haven't considered it yet, getting your CISSP would be a great certification since when I was doing the hiring for security people it was a qualification that helped separate the candidates from each other.  This is a certification that basically helps to prove you have good overall general security knowledge, sort of like getting your PMP certification for project management.

Well, sorry for rambling and good luck in your pursuit...

Gusington

^Thanks Grim...I do plan on getting the CISSP, once I have basic A+, basic networking and basic security certificates.

With recent personal developments that literally occurred just a couple of days ago (new job that I have been waiting to get hired on for a year), I am planning on combining these technical and IT security skills with an Emergency Management background earned professionally (new job), academically (new job may lead to a new Masters in Public Health degree), and a jaunt with the Army, if you can believe it.

I will give more details once it calms down here a little bit. It's been busy few months.



слава Україна!

We can't live under the threat of a c*nt because he's threatening nuclear Armageddon.

-JudgeDredd

Mr. Bigglesworth

Last chance to remove DNSChanger virus before web access is cut

"The FBI is snipping a cyber safety net on Monday that kept thousands of computer users online after their internet connections were hijacked by a piece of malware called DNSChanger, meaning those users could be disconnected from the web if they still haven't removed the virus by July 9."


http://www.cbc.ca/news/technology/story/2012/07/06/tech-dns-changer-virus.html
"Once more unto the breach, dear friends, once more; "
- Shakespeare's Henry V, Act III, 1598

Staggerwing

Well, my main 'puter is clean. If I hear a howl of anguish that day when youtube clips of Disney movies suddenly won't load I'll know the anti-spyware I installed on my youngest son's rig wasn't up to the task. For that, I have my Backup Win7 disk. He will sulk, I will fix, he will smile.  ;)
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Nothing really rocks and nothing really rolls and nothing's ever worth the cost...

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'When searching for a meaningful embrace, sometimes my self respect took second place' -Iggy Pop, Cry for Love

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I got my time machine, got my 'electronic dream!"
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